Maple Ridge, B.C. to be home of new $1.05-billion lithium-ion battery plant

Maple Ridge, B.C., will be home to a new $1.05-billion lithium-ion battery plant and an anticipated 450 permanent jobs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby made the announcement Tuesday, touting the partnership with battery cell maker E-One Moli as a step towards developing B.C.’s clean economy.

1:19 Trudeau announces new lithium-ion battery plant in Maple Ridge, B.C.

Under the deal, B.C. will fund up to $80 million for the new advanced manufacturing facility, which the province said will be the first of its kind in western Canada.

The federal government is putting up $204.5 million through the Net Zero Accelerator Initiative, which is aimed at supporting companies that can help Canada reach its greenhouse gas emission targets.

The plant will anchor E-One Moli’s North American operations and create a B.C. hub in the global battery component supply chain, according to the provincial and federal governments.

“They know that B.C. has a clean energy supply and that Canada has essential supplies that go into cleantech like batteries, and they know that our government has been working hard since 2015 to build up a whole cleantech ecosystem from investment tax credits for manufacturing to a critical minerals strategy to support for workers and their families,” Trudeau said.

Eby said the investment was an example of how boosting the economy and tackling the challenge of climate change can work hand in hand.

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“For our own future here in a province that has seen huge wildfires, four years of drought, dried-up rivers, overwintering pine beetle decimating our forest industry, atmospheric rivers, heat domes killing people, we know this is where we have to go, we know this is what we have to do,” Eby said.

“The people who suggest we have to just accept that as the future and just stop taking action are wrong, and we are proving them wrong today with hundreds of new clean energy jobs.”

Battery cells produced in the plant will be used in products ranging from consumer electronics and power tools to medical devices.

The plant project will make E-One Moli the largest private-sector employer in Maple Ridge.